Ray Goddard
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| Ray Goddard | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Goddard | |
| Date of birth | 13 February 1949 | |
| Place of birth | Fulham, England | |
| Date of death | 11 December 2007 (aged 58) | |
| Place of death | Spain | |
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Fulham | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1967-1974 1974-1978 1978-1981 |
Leyton Orient Millwall Wimbledon |
278 (0) 80 (0) 119 (1) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Raymond "Ray" Goddard (13 February 1949 − 11 December 2007) was an English football goalkeeper who played for three London clubs between 1967 and 1981. Goddard began his career as a member of Fulham's youth team, but was released without being offered a professional contract. He subsequently joined Orient, where he spent eight seasons. In 1967 the entire Orient squad was transferlisted to ease the financial plight of the club - with the exception of Goddard. He was a member of the Orient side that won the Third Division title in 1969-70, and narrowly missed out on promotion to the top flight in 1974. In total, he played 278 league games for the O's.[1] He unluckily lost his place to the newly signed John jackson in october 1973 but returned to the first team after an injured Jackson made costly errors in the O's failed promotion campaign of 73-74. He suffered a strained relationship with George Petchey after first learning of his demotion at Jackson's expense on the team bus.
In November 1974, Goddard joined Millwall, but george Petchey became the lion's boss and after their past history, Goddard's days were obviously numbered. In February 1978 he joined Wimbledon who had only recently been elected to the league. He spent four seasons at Wimbledon and was part of the team that won promotion to the Third Division in 1979, relegated back to the Fourth Division the following year, and then promoted back again in 1981. In his final match for the Dons, Goddard scored from the penalty spot in Wimbledon's 4-2 defeat against Bury.
After leaving Wimbledon, Goddard finished his career at non-league Wealdstone. After his retirement from football, Goddard moved to Spain where he ran a bar. He died from a stroke in December 2007, aged 58.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Ray Goddard, Leyton Orient official site 12 December 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2008
- ^ Tribute to Ray Goddard lastingtribute.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2008
